Leave it to local heroes KCRW to ensure the proper curation of a musical event. Whereas most sessions recorded at Santa Monica’s Apogee Studios for later broadcast on Morning Becomes Eclectic include a break in a set of music for an interview, the night Rhye came to play included a shake up in the order of proceedings.
Hosted by DJ Aaron Byrd, the decision had been made to front load the interview with front man Michael Milosh, to allow Rhye to cast its seductive spell in one fell swoop. Which they did.
The ten-song set included three samples from 2013s Woman scattered among seven cuts off of their immaculately constructed 2018 LP, Blood. With founding member Robin Hannibal having moved on from the group, Rhye took on somewhat of a new identity, appearing as a robust seven-piece collective.
Included in the mix were disparate elements from the viola and cello, to the warm tones of a Hammond B3. Much as they are given room to breathe on album, each instrument rang clear through Apogee Studios. While the players themselves are due much credit for presenting the sonic intricacies of their digital sensualism, praise must also be shared with the live mixing from industry heavyweight Bob Clearmountain.
If there is any criticism to hang on Rhye, perhaps it would be that there isn’t enough oomph in their sound, a palette that births each song like a scene from one thematically unified tapestry. But on closer review, minor variations reward the listener that receives the music with same tenderness with which it was conceived.
Milosh’s vocals resemble gentle arcs that come in and then disappear like the gradual approach and passing of a car in the night. On “Waste,” his additions were met with faint trombone fills, and shimmering metallic ribbons that sounded like they were being created 1000 feet away.
“Major Minor Love” started with only a hum, but turned in to a Rhye rave-up, with an extended ambient portion. In “Softly,” the septet handled the melody with the delicacy of someone transporting an egg on a pillow. On the back end of the tune, the group went all in by presenting a new outro cooked up earlier in the day during soundcheck. Milosh’s coquettish coos of “Don’t run away,” sounded more like the languid pleas of someone confident that his partner isn’t going anywhere.
The now hot house room got further sexed up during “Last Dance,” thanks be to Zachary Morillo’s interstellar drumming, and the unexpected sultriness of Claire Courchene’s…trombone. Yes, this was a different sort of affair. By “Count To Five,” Itai Shapira snuck in descending staircase bass bombs, while Milosh flaunted an ever so humble swagger with some mild beat boxing.
Pray for the broadcast of new tracks “Taste,” in which there is a moment of lift that is so subtle, yet captures all of the magic of the set in a singular, fleeting moment, and the percolating and angular af “Stay Safe.”
The night ended with a song that stood out as quiet among many-a-quiet selections. In “Song For You,” Claire Courchene moved gracefully from cello to trombone to cello to trombone. Michael Milosh , meanwhile, went for the romantics’ jugular with his confession that, “you’re my favorite place to bleed.”
Aaron Byrd’s interview and some portion of the extended Apogee set will air on MBE on Friday, February 23. Tune in to find out how new love in Michael Milosh’s life served as a bridge between Woman and Blood, and how an initial vision for his enigmatic band inevitably led, over the course of some 478 live shows, to the eventual demystification and musical evolution of Rhye.
Rhye Live at Apogee Studios Setlist
3 Days
Waste*
Please*
Major Minor Love
Softly*
Last Dance
Count To Five*
Taste*
Stay Safe*
Song For You*
*off of 2018 LP, Blood
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